The same job gets done, but there is a different approach.įor Fr. Are we just trying to plow ahead with our own strength in the way we think things need to be done, or have we really brought these before the Lord? Maybe God has a way we can approach what we do in a different way, like the heart surgeon that comes in from the side. It was moments where things were not going well or the way he planned where he was invited to ask himself: am I trusting more in God or in myself? As Knights of Columbus, maybe things are not quite going as we planned, or there is something else that is not exactly going right. Walter mentions that very often, he said he desired to do God’s will, but in the way that he wanted it. Learning to do things in a different way requires great humility and dying to one’s self though, because it hurts when our plans don’t go the way we wanted them to. For instance I am told that a heart surgeon does not approach the heart directly, but often comes in from the side or back. Very often he was not able to offer Mass or function as a priest in the way which he would have liked, but he had to learn that there were other ways to do God’s will if he remained open to it. Very often when things are not going the way we want them to, we can get so bogged down in what is going wrong and what we cannot do that we don’t focus on what we can do. The first piece of wisdom is this: when we experience setbacks in life, that is when things are not going as we would wish, we may be affected by what is going on but God is not. ![]() In this brief talk, I would like to share two pieces of wisdom that stood out to me. Now, even though none of us are prisoners of war or in a labor camp, we all have our own difficulties and setbacks in life, and I think we can all gain some wisdom from Fr. Or as Saint Paul says in Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things in Christ who strengthens me.” To truly trust that even when things were not going as he would wish, that all things were under the hand of God’s providence. When people asked him how he got through all of that unimaginable suffering, he said it was only through an utter reliance on God’s will that he managed to endure. Walter describes his experience of being captured by the Russian army during World War II and how he spent 23 agonizing years in Soviet prisons and the labor camps of Siberia. If you haven’t had a chance to read this book I highly recommend it. ![]() Paul to the Phillipians 4:13, “I can do all things in Christ who strengthens me.” I was inspired to choose this quote after reading the book He Leadeth Me by Fr. As we all continue to navigate the challenges that our world throws at us, the theme chosen for this year’s state convention comes from the passage of St. I welcome you all to this year’s state convention.
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